On Saturday, July 28th, Portland Police Officer Justin Clary fired multiple rounds into the car driven by Billy Wayne Simms as he attempted to drive away. The vehicle plowed into an occupied apartment building, after which police placed a guarded perimeter around the scene. Simms was left wounded in his car without medical attention and his family was denied access to him or to any information about him during this time. Hours later, Simms was pronounced dead at the wheel of the car.

Since then, the Police and local media have attempted to justify this murder by expounding a litany of violent offenses the victim was alleged to have been involved in in the days prior. Regardless of any past criminal history and whether police accusations against the victim are true or not, there is no justification for Billy Wayne Simms’ murder. The actions of this officer and of the Portland Police Bureau in supporting him are a brutal, tragic reminder of the realities of police violence in working class communities.

Billy Wayne’s family has been hit with an unimaginable, sudden tragedy. On top of loosing their son, the family must come up with $1500 to retrieve Billy’s body from the morgue in the next few days. They are asking for the community’s support to help them raise this money.

We need YOUR help raising this $1500 so that Billy’s family can have a proper funeral for him.

Though the looming political questions raised by yet an other police murder will have to be addressed in the coming weeks, immediate support to Billy’s family is needed. If you want to be updated on future actions after these funds have been raised, email us and let us know.

On January 29th, 2010, Aaron Campbell, an unarmed
African American man was shot in the back with an
assault rifle by Portland Police Office Ronald
Frashour, an incident Rev. Jesse Jackson called “an
execution.” Now after community members demanded
and got him fired, he may be put right back on the
force.

Was firing Frashour just a joke? If Frashour gets his
job back, the message is clear: POLICE CAN GET AWAY
WITH MURDER.

Justice for Aaron Campbell

Fire killer cops and keep them fired!

What you can do:

• Spread the word- tell your friends,
family, co-workers and neighbors
• Sign up to receive an email or text the
day the decision comes out. Send your
email address or phone # to
firefrashour@gmail.com
• Sign up to receive text updates by
texting “Follow FireFrashour” to 40404
• Send a letter to the editors of the
Oregonian, The Portland Tribune, The
Portland Mercury, The Willamette
Week, The Skanner or The Asian
Reporter
• Follow us on Twitter @ FireFrashour

On September 29th, Rose City Copwatch gave a talk at the Red and Black Cafe on the history of modern police force and the need for a world without cops. Thanks to the folks at Utopia or Bust, the event was recorded and all 50 minutes are available online!